The Zebra 2844 is your bog standard no frills thermal label printer that was produced for more than 8 years. I cannot be sure of exactly how it went down, but I do believe that UPS would subsidize these printers re-branded as “UPS 2844.” Using their custom firmware would limit use to their tools and drivers (sort of, it’s complicated). It was in their interest to not let the Average Joe put the stock firmware on the device if they were giving them away or selling at a reduced price. This is how to restore a UPS 2844 to the stock firmware followed by a breakdown of the full thought process.

Thank you to everyone who participated, or is still participating, in this year’s challenge. This was my first year creating and running the HHV challenge, and as a result, I’ve learned a lot and I hope to bring it even better next year! Huge shout out to Chris Dubsky for being the first (and only) person to solve the challenge at DEF CON. If you weren’t able to participate, but still want to, the files are available on our Github. SPOILER ALERT Below is a write-up of the challenges and solutions. Don’t read past this point if you are still attempting (or want to attempt) the challenges without help/solutions.

Many a trinkets have been popping up at DEF CON. However over the last few years a constant figure has been the DEF CON Jack kit. This neat little kit is available directly from the DEF CON Swag booth. It is in the shape of the iconic smiley face and crossbones, with RGB LED eyes that change color based on ambient temperature.

The culture of hacking is always changing; the people, the mindset, even the clothes. The DEF CON Hardware Hacking Village was established for DC16 and celebrated its 10th anniversary at DC25. While we have strived to provide the best resource for everyone, we feel that we have fallen behind in the last few years. This is mostly due to the strained resource of the HHV, the majestic soldering iron. Even though we maintain a large amount of irons, it has not been enough to keep up with demand. While soldering is an important skill, the hardware hacker’s tool belt contains more than the soldering iron and the HHV’s goal is to teach and provide this broad spectrum of tools. To accommodate this, the HHV is branching in to two independent groups.